RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) - A Rutland city committee is endorsing a plan to remove all the city’s ash trees as a precaution to prevent infestation by the invasive emerald ash borer.
City Forester David Schneider says he doesn’t want to take down the city’s 355 ash trees, but told the Public Works Committee Wednesday that it is the smart move. The Rutland Herald reports the motion to remove the tree now goes to the full city board Monday.
Dead trees tend to drop branches that can become road hazards. They’re also harder to cut down than live trees.
Schneider says the insect species has killed 350 million ash trees around the U.S. since 2004. Though it has not been detected in Rutland County yet, the borer was confirmed this year in Washington, Orange and Caledonia counties.
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